It’s a Monday, a public holiday, and a rainy day. The weekend has stretched yet again to a three-day, with today being a replacement public holiday.
It is perfect for a sleep-in with the cool weather and doing nothing, and the thought of working on my miniature pales to the lure of the sofa. The Weather app is showing a rainy day until this evening. Going out feels like a hassle with the wet condition. So it looks like staying put is best.
I have been snacking a lot lately. Too much, in fact. Two days ago, I stood on the bathroom scale, and the numbers horrified me! I need to do something about it.
Mind you – we have stopped our Intermittent Fasting (IF) regime ever since the pandemic broke. And it’s been a little more than two years already. Initially, my weight was stable, and it even dipped. I was pleased. But it has crept up again recently. I suspect it’s all that after-game beer and snacking on Chinese New Year cookies.
So right after the Chap Goh Meh dinner, I have embarked on a new mission to shed all those extra pounds. On top of playing my regular golf games, I will do a half-hour morning walk on days when I am not playing golf. It will be beneficial for my legs, muscles, and abs.
Let’s see how my number will be after a month on this new mission. Oh, I should also reduce my beer intake after all the golf games. Stay tuned for my progress!
Today is Chap Goh Meh, the last day to celebrate the Lunar New Year. After 15 days of celebration, today is the finale. However, it has been a lack of celebrations again this year because of the pandemic and restrictions. But despite the situation, we are planning a big feast tonight to mark the occasion.
I have to admit I have gained weight over the past two weeks, eating and snacking on all the cookies without any discipline. So after tonight’s big steamboat meal, I will start my diet. From tomorrow onwards, no more cookies, more golf but no beer, and throw in morning walks to shed those extra pounds!
Just last week I thought there would be no more ‘Yee Sang’ to toss and eat as the Lunar New Year celebrations was ending, we had a final one on Chap Goh Meh night itself! And what a thrill we had with this finale.
It was the family Chap Goh Meh dinner and I had the honor to put the dish together with all the ingredients available. It was decided it should resemble a mouse, after all we are celebrating the Year of the Rat. And this time, we finally had fish topping – salmon that was cooked not raw but still counts in my opinion.
Me busy putting the ingredients together
What fun I had crafting the dish, almost like a piece of art. The final toss was even more enjoyable with the family savoring our own creation in presentation and flavors. The dinner that followed, needless to say, was simply delicious, all home cooked. It was a good Chap Goh Meh dinner.
So on Tuesday when we were out with our friends for dinner, there was the ‘Yee Sang’ dish to toss right before the rest of the other dishes were served. But no raw salmon topping on it! Again, where’s the fish? We had slices of abalone instead…
With the Lunar New Year celebration coming to an end soon, I guess we won’t be tossing anymore ‘Yee Sang’ because there’s no more dinners to attend except the final one – the family Chap Goh Meh dinner on Saturday night.
Chap Goh Meh literally means the 15th night of Chinese New Year and it’s the last day of the festive period and celebration. For some (like my side of the family), the dinner on this night is equally important as the Reunion Dinner. So we will, as always, have a final family dinner at home to mark the occasion.
And most likely no ‘Yee Sang’ although there will be a steamed fish on the menu. Looks like we will have to wait until next year for a ‘Yee Sang’ topped with raw salmon.
Today is Chap Goh Meh, the 15th and final day of the Lunar New Year. And as always, the family will have a big festive dinner to mark this occasion.
Then after this obligatory dinner, I have decided to do a bathroom scale challenge on myself. Instead of staying aghast with the recent bathroom scale horror, I will work on losing that 15lbs that was added on me. Forget about accepting the initial results with a pinch of salt or not trusting the device, I give myself three months to prove Newbie wrong.
With no more big festive meals lined up, the challenge will be more manageable but still a tough one because the New Year cookies are still aplenty to tempt. Losing 15lbs is a lot…
So stay tuned with me on this! Gotta stay focused and disciplined.
After much thought about the M&Ms for my gum ball machine, I have decided not to fill it up. Sigh… A friend suggested to mix the plain ones and the peanut ones if I was undecided. What a brilliant idea! Tempting, very tempting but I have to go on diet and having a chocolate dispensing machine within my reach may thwart my plans.
The Chinese New Year celebration is almost over with one last Chap Goh Meh dinner with Mom and my sibling’s family tomorrow night, so I have to stay disciplined and go ahead with the diet intention.
I need to lose all that weight gained from the constant eating since December last year when M1 came home for Christmas. Also because I feel a psychological expansion of my waistline when I put on my only pair of Levi’s and it feels tight. Not good especially when the Levi’s is those stretchy ones. Thank goodness, I was back at the gym earlier in the week to get things going.
So for now, the gum ball machine remains a decorative item and not a chocolate dispensing machine. But… me being me, I couldn’t resist the chocolate temptation and gave in to getting a small packet of M&Ms. I reasoned that the diet starts only next week, a little now wouldn’t hurt. Weakling.
The family actually had the Chap Goh Meh dinner last night instead of tonight, calling it the Pre-Chap Goh Meh dinner. A simple family get together for another hearty meal.
Having the dinner yesterday was a good decision as it was a Sunday and plenty of time for preparation. If dinner was held tonight, being a work and school day, preparations may not be so smooth and we would all end up having a late dinner and a long day.
As always with family occasions, it turned out well despite a lesser spread than the Reunion Dinner menu but this was not important. More important is the fact that with this occasion complete, and today being the 15th day of Chinese New Year, it marks the last day for celebrating. No more monkeying around the Year of the Monkey, pun intended.
I need a break from all this eating!
The long stretch of the Chinese New Year holiday is over as we go back to work today. Are things back to normal? Yes and no.
The weekday routine remains the same; M2 is back in school with her extra curricular hours as before the break and work in the office continues where we had left off. It is only up to here that things seem normal.
Beyond this, my pants feel tighter as I am pretty sure my waistline have expanded, what with all that eating or should I say excessive eating, and there are several more Yee Sang tossing lunch/dinner sessions lined up, so how can this be back to normal?
I guess I just have to face it until Chap Goh Meh, then it’s really back to normal.
It is the fifth day of Chinese New Year and today, we will eat the traditional ‘Mee Sua’ when we see my Mom shortly. This traditional noodle dish that she cooks every year during this festivity as well as during birthdays, comes with two hard boiled eggs, some meat and served with soup signifies the person being a year older, upon consumption, and wiser to face the new year. It is nice when tradition is still kept alive. Bless Mom for this.
Today we will also visit some relatives and I foresee more eating, if not a hearty meal, at least munching on cookies and sweet offerings, typically found during this time. I have not stepped on my scale in the bathroom. Maybe after Chap Goh Meh… Then the workouts will begin but until then, the eating continues.
Angieneering 
Remarks